Private bus operators fleecing passengers during festive season in AP

Taking advantage of this, private bus operators have jacked up their fares, forcing people to purchase tickets at high prices, as they have no other option to reach their homes.

For instance, from Vijayawada to Visakhapatnam, private bus operators are charging minimum Rs 700 to ₹3,999 per ticket, whereas APSRTC ticket for Super Luxury is Rs 605, Rs 929 for Amaravati and Rs 1,082 for Vennela.

Similarly, from Vijayawada to Tirupati, private bus operators are collecting minimum Rs 650 to Rs 1,100, while APSRTC charges Rs 661 for Super Luxury and Rs 1,016 for Amaravati.
These fares collected by private buses are applicable as long as seats are available. In case there is more demand, they automatically raise the prices. Passengers end up paying double the normal fare or even more. TGSRTC has also hiked its fare by 50 per cent for special services,

With APSRTC announcing that it will operate 1,000 special services with no additional fare, a good number of people have preferred to take the public transport. But given the limited number of seats available, many have been forced to opt for private buses by paying more fare.


Given the lower fares, APSRTC bus depots are bustling with people carrying luggage bags and waiting to board buses. APSRTC executive director (Operations) Chandrasekhar said, “People are preferring our scheduled and special services to reach home during the festive period. As we have introduced 1,000 special services, we have not seen many people waiting for buses at our depots. In fact, buses are waiting for people to take them to their destinations.”


Many people have complained that there is no monitoring of the charges collected by private bus operators. They want the authorities concerned to intervene and ensure normal fares are charged.